First presented at
the University of Winnipeg "Religion's in India" class. Modified and
updated for presentation on August 2, 2003 at the Maithri Hall of the
Mettharama in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

-ooOoo-

Many many years ago, while traveling in Tibet, the
8th century Indian sage Padmasambhava made the following
prediction; " When the iron eagle flies and horses run on wheels, the
Tibetan people will be scattered over the earth and the Dhamma will go
to the land of the red man" (the colour of Westerners or
Caucasians was considered to be reddish pink by Asians). We now
live in an era of iron eagle airplanes and fast paced cars that have
taken the place of horses on wheels while the Tibetan people are
scattered all over the world primarily because of the Chinese occupation
of Tibet. True to his prediction the Buddha Dhamma has spread from the
mountains of Tibet and the forest monasteries of Sri Lanka, Thailand and
Burma to the West. Buddhism is one of the fastest growing religions in
North America, Europe and Australia. Buddhism has taken root in the West
as ordained monks, nuns, and lay devotees from the West practice and
teach the Dhamma to both Western and Eastern audiences.

The Appeal of
Buddhism

What has caused this
surge of interest in Buddhism from the Western World? While it
would not be prudent to list one single cause I would like to begin by
quoting some well known Western monks who have adopted the Buddha Dhamma
and dedicated their life to the practice and spread of the Teachings.
When Bhikkhu Bodhi of the Bodhi Monastery in USA. was questioned on his
opinion as to why Buddhism was becoming so popular in the United States
of America he replied as follows:

"It is not difficult to understand why Buddhism
should appeal to Americans at this particular junction of our history.
Theistic religions have lost their hold on the minds of many educated
Americans and this has opened up a deep spiritual vacuum that needs to
be filled. For many, materialistic values are profoundly unsatisfying,
and Buddhism offers a spiritual teaching that fits the bill. It is
rational, experiential, practical, and personally verifiable. It brings
concrete benefits that can be realized in one's own life; it propounds
lofty ethics and an intellectually cogent philosophy. Also less
auspiciously, it has an exotic air that attracts those fascinated by the
mystical and esoteric
[i]".

Ajahn
Sumedho, the Chief Monk of the Amaravati Forest Monastery, in the United
Kingdom was asked why he chose Buddhism as his religion and path to
emancipation. He said:

"What
impressed me about Buddhism was that it did not ask me merely to
believe. It was a way (path) where one was free to doubt. It offered a
practical way of finding out the Truth through one's own experience
rather than through accepting the teachings of other people.

I
realized that was the way I had to do it because it is in my nature to
doubt and question rather than to believe. Therefore religions that ask
one to accept on faith were simply out. I could not even begin to get
near them[ii]"

Bhikku Bodhi and Ajahn
Sumedo have given us a starting point for examining the reasons for the
marked increase of Western interest in the Buddha Dhamma. However,
to have a full understanding of this phenomenon including why it is
happening at this point in time in our history we have to examine the
nature and character of those that are adopting the Buddha's Path to
Freedom. This examination would lead us to the cause of the Western
interest in Buddhism at a time when there is a decline of Buddhism in
Eastern countries such as Korea and Sri Lanka.

Darren Nelson in his article, "Why is Buddhism
the Fastest Growing Religion in Australia?[iii]"
asks the question, " How is it possible that a 2500 year old
philosophy, which began five hundred years before Christianity and one
thousand years before the Muslim faith is relevant to modern life in
Australia?" In answering his question he suggests the
following: "It does not preach a dogma of a strange cult, nor seek
converts with evangelistic fervor. Those Australians who actively
convert to Buddhism do so voluntarily, and are usually well-educated
middle-age professional who are attracted to a sense of inner peace".

Jan Nattier in her article "American Buddhists:
Who are they?[iv]"
confirms this socio-economic assessment of the Western Buddhist, which
she has termed Elite Buddhism. She claims that the American Buddhist is
upper-middle class, well educated, financially comfortable and
overwhelmingly of European-American constituency. Recent statistics and
information seems to confirm this assessment. While 2.5% of the
American population are of the Jewish faith 25% of the American Buddhist
population were formally of the Jewish faith. The concentration of
Jewish Buddhists then is 10 times more in the Buddhist population than
in the average American population. In general Jewish Americans are well
educated, financially comfortable and most definitely at the high end of
the socio-economic scale.

In the last decade the Western media has also
focused its attention on Buddhism. Several years ago the C.B.C.
radio program, Tapestry, announced that Buddhism was the fastest
growing religion in North America. By the middle of 1999 The Dharma Web
Ring was the largest religious web ring in the world with the highest
number of daily hits. America's fascination with Buddhism has spread to
Hollywood and been translated into such movies as Little Buddha,
Seven Years in Tibet, and Kundun. In October 1999, the
Times magazine was titled, America's Fascination with
Buddhism. It focused on celebrities such as Steven Seagal, Tina
Turner, Richard Gere, Adam Yauchand. Phil Jackson etc. who had all
adopted the Buddha's Teaching and incorporated His teachings into their
daily lives. His Holiness the Dalai Lama who was a recipient of
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 has through his talks, seminars and
publications brought the Buddha Dhamma to the forefront and made the
Dhamma synonymous with peace and compassion.

What are the characteristics of the Buddhist
philosophy that attracts well-educated upper middle class Westerners and
celebrities? Bhikku Bodhi acknowledged a fundamental change in society
when he said, "Theistic religions have lost their hold on many
educated Americans". With Western science's acceptance of Darwin's
Theory of Evolution and the archeological and geological evidence that
dates the earth as being many millions of years old many schools,
universities and museums have updated their curriculums. Acceptance of
creation in 6 days and an earth with a finite limited life span of a few
thousand years has waned.

Events in the last decade like September 11, 2001
in USA have further eroded the belief of an omnipotent compassionate
creator God. More and more educated Westerners are questioning the cause
of physically and mentally challenged babies and the role of an
omnipotent God in a world filled with pain and suffering. Recent
statistics published by the World Hunger web site had significant impact
on the West. Current estimates state that one person dies of starvation
every 4 seconds, and ¾ of these deaths are children. How does one
reconcile these and other natural disasters which cause enormous
suffering with the role and example set by a compassionate omnipotent
God?

The concept of a God that takes only his followers
to heaven and places those of all other religions (about 80% of the
world population), in eternal hell is losing appeal. Once such beliefs
brought fear into the minds of people, instilled obedience and resulted
in forced and coerced evangelizing by well meaning missionaries who
wanted to save the world. Now it brings embarrassment in countries that
are actively combating racism with recognition of multi-culturism and
religious freedom. In the past it was believed that questioning God was
a sacrilege, now many young Westerners have no qualms asking questions
and they expect reasonable answers. These individuals are seeking
a spiritual experience to fill the void left by the movement away from
theistic religions and are drawn to Buddhism. They are finding in
Buddhism, a religion that encourages questioning and experiential wisdom
before acceptance. This is seen as a fresh breath of air by those who
have analytical minds and see no merit in blind faith. Ajahn
Sumedo summarized the need of these educated Westerner when he said;
"Religions that asks one to accept on faith were simply out."

Modern man likes to experience and see things for
himself. This has resulted in a great emphasis on meditation in the
Western practice of Buddhism. It is only through insight
mediation, Vipassana, that we can see for ourselves and
experience the Truth of the Buddha's teachings. Preferring to see
for themselves as opposed to gathering knowledge through learning,
Western Buddhists have emphasized the importance of meditation and the
development of the mind. Whilst Eastern devotees have concentrated on
developing spirituality through the practice of generosity and morality
(infinite compassion and loving kindness to all living beings) our
Western counterparts have surpassed us by using virtue as the foundation
for mental culture and incorporating meditation in their daily life.
As such the commitment of Western Buddhists is strong for they are
Buddhists by conviction and they have experiential wisdom.

While His Holiness the
Dalai Lama's charismatic personality and inspiring talks have made
Tibetan (Vajrayana) Buddhism popular in the West, students of Ajahn Chah
and Mahasi Sayadaw have introduced the Thai and Burmese Theravada Forest
Monastery tradition to the West. Theravada Buddhism with dutanga
practices in the forest monastery tradition has taken root in the West
as Western monks such as Ajahn Sumedho, Ajahn Geoff, Ajahn Passano and
Ajahn Amaro head monastery's for Western monks and nuns. Branch
monasteries are now appearing in UK, USA, New Zealand, Italy,
Switzerland, Australia and Canada. Ajahn Mun who reintroduced the forest
monastery tradition in Thailand is recognized as an Arahanth as are his
disciples Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Lee Dhammadaro and Ajahn Maha Boowa.
These great contemporary disciples of the Buddha have shared their
experiential wisdom with the West. This sharing has resulted in
providing many followers with the opportunity to experience the truth of
the Buddha's teaching through practice.

The internet which hosts great Buddhist web sites
produced by Western Buddhists such as "Access to Insight,
Buddhasasana web site, and Teachings of the Elders have made
it possible for the interested Westerner to access quality books with
ease. Prolific writers such as Ajahn Geoff of the Metta Forest Monastery
in California have translated sections of the Vinaya Pitaka and the
Sutta Pitaka from Pali to English for free distribution. He has further
enriched the body of books available by translating the teachings of the
great Thai Arahanths into English. Lay disciples such as Jack Kornfield
and Gil Fionsdal have advanced the spread of the Buddha Dhamma with
their dynamic presence, writings and meditation classes.

What is the cause of this
surge of interest in Buddhism from the Western World? In my
opinion, the reason for the increased Western interest in Buddhism is
the scientific approach of the Buddha, His infinite compassion to all
living beings, and His teaching by example. Buddhism addresses
both the intellect and the heart. In the Kalama Sutta the Buddha
asked his followers to examine the Teaching carefully and accept that
which is conducive to the moral benefit of self and others. As
Buddhist we should not accept the Teachings simply because of tradition,
because it is spoken and rumoured by many, because it is found written
in our religious books or even because we respect the teacher or elder
who teaches it. There is no blind faith in Buddhism. The
French philosopher Voltaire said, "Faith is to believe in something
which your reason tells you can not be true." The Buddha asked us to
examine His teachings as the wise test gold and to accept what appeals
to our reason as being wholesome. Before acceptance the Buddha invited
us to come see and experience the truth. This scientific approach of
test and experience has through out history, attracted many an
intellectual to the Buddha's teachings. Some
scholars from the past who are worthy of note are Professor Vincent
Fallsball of Copenhagen, Herman Oldenberg, Max Muller, Paul Dahlike and
Winternitz of Germany, Sylvan Levi and Poussin of France, H.C. Warren
and E. W. Burlingams of the USA, and Professor Stcherbatsky of Russia.
Albert Einstein went so far as to claim that;

"The religion of the future will be a cosmic
religion. It should transcend a personal God, avoid dogmas and
theology. Covering both the natural and spiritual, it should be
based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things
natural and spiritual and a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers
this description. If there is any religion that would cope
with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism."

However, people require more than just intellectual
stimulation from a religion. A religion must have truth,
compassion, tolerance, and be uplifting to help mankind reach their
highest potential. It should bring calm and inner peace to
individuals living in a world that is crumbling with greed, hatred and
materialism. The Buddha through example elevated man to his highest
potential by teaching a path of wisdom, infinite compassion and
loving-kindness. It is this combination of wisdom and compassion,
the benefits of which can be experienced in this very life, that has
attracted mankind to Buddhism throughout all ages. It is also this
that has led to the peaceful existence and spread of Buddhism without
bloodshed or evangelizing over two thousand five hundred years.
Possibly the greatest compliment that the West paid to Buddhism was when
the United Nations recognized the Buddha for his pioneering contribution
to the peace and welfare of mankind through the first official
celebration of Vesak (the day marking the birth, enlightenment and
passing away of the Lord Buddha). On May 15th 2000, New York
born Bhikkhu Bodhi inspired the dignitaries and masses in his
enlightening message to the United Nations when he said:

"Ever since the fifth century B.C., the Buddha
has been the Light of Asia, a spiritual teacher whose teaching has shed
its radiance over an area that once extended from the Kabul Valley in
the west to Japan in the east, from Sri Lanka in the south to Siberia in
the north. The Buddha's sublime personality has given birth to a
whole civilization guided by lofty ethical and humanitarian ideals, to a
vibrant spiritual tradition that has ennobled the lives of millions with
a vision of man's highest potentials. His graceful figure is the
centerpiece of magnificent achievements in all the arts - in literature,
paintings, sculpture and architecture[v]".

The
Stability of Buddhism

While the Western World's fascination with Buddhism
cannot be denied the question of whether this is a passing fad or a
permanent transformation for the Western Culture must be asked. The
Buddha's words tell us that for a religion to take root in a country and
stabilize it must have ordained monks who in turn have been ordained by
ordained monks from that country. While the first wave of Western monks
in the Theravada tradition were ordained in Thailand, Burma and Sri
Lanka we now have Western monks ordaining Western monks. At
present, the West is still experimenting with the various traditions of
Buddhism. They are sifting through the ethnic traditions that have been
imported by Asian immigrants, the textural material, which is now
readily available, and the direct experiences from meditation. There is
no doubt that over time Western Buddhism will incorporate the unique
characteristic of its people and their needs and stabilize. In
1938 a Japanese Shinto monk noted that it took three centuries for China
to adopt Buddhism from India. It would be unrealistic to expect a
miracle in the West!

In my opinion, in order for Buddhism to stabilize
in the West they need to accomplish two things. First they need to move
beyond the concept of Buddhism as an individual religious preference and
incorporate it in everyday practice of families and larger social
networks. The heavy emphasis on meditation with experiential
wisdom attracts University students and upper-middle class educated
adults. Currently there does not seem to be a formal avenue open for the
children of these first generation Western Buddhists to adopt the Dhamma
and for families to incorporate the Dhamma in their daily life.
While the most effective method of sharing the Dhamma with Western
children is yet to be seen, in 1995 the Blackheath Primary School of New
South Wales adopted Buddhist instruction in addition to Catholic and
Protestant options at the request of a group of parents.

Second they must build strong institutions to take
the place of the informal associations of those interested in the
Dhamma. With the ordination of Western monks and nuns and monasteries
for Western Sangha this may be just a question of time. However, the
assimilation may be slow as the Judo Christian clergy are financially
independent and the West is not accustomed to providing the requisites
of the Sangha who have renounced all possessions. May be it is at this
juncture that the Asian and Western Buddhists will merge. The
mutual learning between Western and Asian Buddhists would strengthen and
provide the foundation for Buddhism to flourish in the West. Each group
has much to learn from the other. Credit must be given to Asian
Buddhists for the stable system that has resulted in the preservation of
the Dhamma for over 2,500 years. Western Buddhists should examine and
adopt from the East that which would result in long-term stability and
social benefit to ensure that the "Buddhism boom" in the United
States, which occurred in the 1890's and faded in the 1920', does not
replicate.

In the meantime the response from mainstream
religions will greatly impact Buddhism's stability in the West. Father
Johnston, a Jesuit priest spoke of the value of Buddhist meditation when
he visited Sydney in January 1997. Addressing those gathered at
the Religion, Literature and Arts Conference at the Australian Catholic
University, Father Johnston spoke of the Christian churches need to
introduce aspects of Eastern Mysticism – such as meditation, yoga and
Zen - if they wanted to increase the current numbers attending weekly
services.

However, the response to the popularity of Buddhism
and its contribution to society has not been all positive. The Anglican
Bishop of Wollongong, (south of Sydney) the Reverend Reg Piper sees
Buddhism as a philosophy that is evil. He expressed his opposition to
the opening of a fifty million dollar Taiwan based temple just south of
Berkley. He directly opposed the Buddhist monks of the Nan Tien temple
plan to promote their style of humanistic Buddhism, which emphasizes the
oneness, and co-existence of the global village. The following extract
is from an interview given on Tuesday, June 18, 1996 when Bishop Piper
made an appearance on ABC's 7.30 report to express his opposition to the
opening of the Nan Tien temple.

Bishop Piper: See, when you have the bible
view of humankind, generally if it is outside the framework of truth –
the bible terms it as evil.

Reporter: It is a deception?

Bishop Piper: In that respect, yes. When
ever it is not based in the truth of Christ, it would be a deception.
Because Buddhism is basically an atheistic religion. There is no God[vi].

Reporter: Why is that a problem?

Bishop Piper: Because God has revealed
himself through Christ. Christ has been raised from the dead. He
said he is God. There is no other way to the truth and no other way to
really live except through Christ.

The growing interest in Buddhism has so worried
Bishop Piper that he has made a video called "In Search of Paradise –
A Biblical Response to Buddhism" to warn all Christians of the evil
deception of Buddhism that has arrived to convert them[vii].

While such extreme beliefs will deter some from
living the benefits of the Buddha Dhamma, it will also contribute to
some Westerners moving away from theistic religions. The Western
potential for the practice of the Dhamma with its educated and affluent
society is vast. As the Indian sage Padmasambhava foretold the
Buddha Dhamma has spread from the mountains of Tibet and the forest
monasteries of Sri Lanka, Thailand and Burma to the West. It will enrich
and awaken Western society as it has every other culture that it has
touched.

Radhika Abeysekera
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canada

[i]"Climbing to the Top of the Mountain"
an interview with Bhikkhu Bodhi at the Bodhi Monastery in USA. Insight
Journal, Fall 2002.

[vi]
Buddhism dispenses with the notion of a Creator God as does science,
and explains the origins of the universe in terms of natural law.
The Buddha is referred to as the Teacher of Gods and men. Buddhism
accepts celestial beings that are transient and subject to the laws of
nature.